A team of Sweet Briar debaters and their coach, assistant professor of economics Gene Gotwalt, will travel to Randolph-Macon College in Ashland for the eighth annual Ethics Bowl on Feb. 11 and 12.

Nikki Soulsby ’09, Carlisle Adams ’10, Morgan Roach ’07 and Jessica Gregg’09 will join Cassidy Trom ’09, Michelle Sanchez ’08, Irene Maslanik ’07 and Katherine Caola ’07, who are veterans of a team that barely missed the final round and finished third in last year’s bowl at Lynchburg College.
Sweet Briar’s 2006 team makes its arguments during last year’s Ethics Bowl, where it had a strong third-place finish.“We are set, practicing, and good to go,” Gotwalt said recently of his team’s ongoing preparation.

The theme of the 2007 Ethics Bowl is “Ethics and Medicine.” Student teams from the 15 Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges member institutions are slated to participate in the competition and debate a variety of case studies focusing on health care dilemmas that include medical ethics and various other health-related issues.

The Ethics Bowl is sponsored by the VFIC and Wachovia Bank. Former CBS journalist and History Channel host Roger Mudd will co-chair the contest with President Ken Garren of Lynchburg College.

Jim Cherry, Wachovia’s chairman of mid-Atlantic banking, has been an Ethics Bowl judge for five years. “This event is an event like no other that allows the leaders of today to interact with dynamic young people who will be the leaders of tomorrow,” he said.

Teams of three to five students are paired in head-to-head competitions that are judged by panels of leaders from Virginia’s business, law, journalism and other sectors. Judges evaluate team presentations and offer reactions to students’ presentations.

“The topic of the 2007 program is timely as our society battles with major debates in medicine like human cloning and stem cell transplants, and as the media focuses on cases like the Terri Schiavo case,” said Ned Moore, president of the VFIC.

“Ethics plays a key role in the medical and healthcare profession starting with the Hippocratic Oath to the popular debate over managed health care.”

Sweet Briar’s team coach agrees. “With all the advances in medicine today, new ethical concerns will have to be addressed by the nation,” Gotwalt said. “This will be an excellent chance for our students to be on the leading edge of these issues.”

The Ethics Bowl opens at 3:15 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11 in Randolph-Macon College’s Blackwell Auditorium. The first round of debates is scheduled for 4 p.m.

A reception and dinner honoring longtime VFIC trustee and chairman of Media General Inc. J. Stewart Bryan III will follow. Rounds three and four begin at 9:30 a.m. Monday, and the final round will be 1:15 p.m. in Blackwell Auditorium.

The public is invited to attend the debate sessions free of charge. There is a cost for the reception and dinner Sunday evening. The winning team will be announced at 2:30 p.m. Monday.

“The Ethics Bowl event continues to provide opportunities for students to apply the ethical decision-making skills they’ve been developing through their coursework and test their belief systems,” LC’s Garren said. “We look forward to an exciting event this year.”

Visit http://www.rmc.edu/spotlight/ethics_bowl.asp for more information on the Ethics Bowl. Information about the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges is available at www.vfic.org.